You Want a “Job in PR”

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A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at my alma to a crop of young adults. There was no real pre-determined structure to the talk and, as expected, that turned out to be a good thing. We opened it up. Free flowing discussion, no slides, no “Q&A to follow.” The conversation did, however, tighten around getting a job “in PR.” While the use of that modifier makes me cringe a bit, it’s natural. College students this time of year, especially juniors and seniors, are thinking about jobs or other post-grad plans. This conversation vien kept circling back to what else they could do to land that elusive and likely non-existent dream job. So a few tips…

Check your entitlement at the door. With most entry level PR jobs, you’re going to be a glorified intern.

Buy yourname.com/.co/.net/whatever. Resumes attached to emails are going the way of snail mailed resumes. Send me a link that tells me all about you that I can look at while I’m on the train. (Pre req: do something with said domain… set up a blog, host your resume/portfolio, SOMETHING.)

Have a reason that absolutely is NOT “I like talking/interacting with people.” You might as well just say that you’d like to be a human for a living.

Change jobs after 2-3 years. It’s the only way you’ll significantly increase your earning.

Blog. Even if no one’s reading.

LinkedIn, About.me, Twitter. Have ‘em all. Keep ‘em fresh.

Get an adult gmail account. No more qt4eva@gmail.com.

Email jobs@companyyouwanttoworkat.com, but also do some digging. Find out who runs HR. Find out who you’d report to. Email them.

Make cards. It seems archaic, but it creates a post-interview memory. $40 will get you something like 100 cards from moo.com.